TABLE OF CONTENTS
MISCELLANEOUS
Notes on contributors
pp. 107–108
Editorial
Rod Ellis | pp. 1–3
SURVEY ARTICLE
Teaching vocabulary to young second- or foreign-language learners: What can we learn from the research?
Yuko Goto Butler | pp. 4–33
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Task repetition and the public performance of speaking tasks in EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school
Jonathan Newton & Bao Trang Thi Nguyen | pp. 34–56
The relative effects of metalinguistic explanation and direct written corrective feedback on children’s grammatical accuracy in new writing
Mary Gorman & Rod Ellis | pp. 57–81
Patterns of interaction and young ESL learners: What is the impact of proficiency and task type?
Rhonda Oliver & Agurtzane Azkarai | pp. 82–102
BOOK REVIEW
Maria del Pilar García Mayo (editor). 2017. Learning Foreign Languages in Primary School: Research Insights
Reviewed by Janet Enever | pp. 103–106
Abstract
Teaching vocabulary to young second- or foreign-language learners: What can we learn from the research?
Yuko Goto Butler | University of Pennsylvania
While vocabulary knowledge is considered a foundational element for young learners of a second or foreign language (L2/FL), pedagogically useful information on this topic is not easily accessible for practitioners. This is in part due to the fact that the relevant information is scattered across multiple fields, including first-language acquisition, child development, and education. The aim of this paper is to synthesize recent knowledge from the related fields and to provide theoretically sound and evidence-based information that is useful for teaching vocabulary to young learners of L2/FL. I identify four major recommendations for vocabulary instruction: (a) ensure frequent and repeated exposure to the target words (as well as nontarget words); (b) provide explicit word definitions and meanings in context; (c) create opportunities for discussions and interactions around the words in question; and (d) use multimodal approaches to teach vocabulary. I also suggest future research directions, with the goal of finding effective approaches that teachers can use to improve their vocabulary instruction while meeting the specific needs of their young L2/FL students.
Keywords: young learners, vocabulary learning, vocabulary teaching, implicit learning, explicit learning, input-based tasks, interactions, formulaic language
Task repetition and the public performance of speaking tasks in EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school
Jonathan Newton | Victoria University of Wellington
Bao Trang Thi Nguyen | University of Foreign Languages, Hue University
This study investigated the occurrence of language-related episodes (LREs) in interactive tasks performed by pairs of Vietnamese English Foreign Language (EFL) learners and the extent to which linguistic knowledge targeted in these LREs was transferred to subsequent public performance (PP) of the same tasks in front of the class. Task performance data was collected from 24 pairs of learners from six intact grade 11 EFL classes at a Vietnamese high school as they carried out two interactive speaking tasks in consecutive weeks, first privately in pairs and then, within the same lesson, publically in front of the class. Teachers and learners were also interviewed. Results showed LREs to be frequent in task rehearsals. The majority of LREs were resolved correctly by the learners and led to more accurate use of the targeted linguistic items in subsequent public performance. The results and supporting interview data shows how, in this school, the practice of asking learners to repeat the performance of tasks in front of the class positively affected learner engagement and enriched the language learning opportunities available through interactive oral tasks.
Keywords: task repetition, public performance, transfer of knowledge, language-related episodes, Vietnam, young learners
The relative effects of metalinguistic explanation and direct written corrective feedback on children’s grammatical accuracy in new writing
Mary Gorman | University of Auckland
Rod Ellis | Curtin University
There has been little research investigating the effects of form-focused instruction (FFI) on the second language acquisition of children. This article reports a quasi-experimental study of integrated form-focused instruction for 33 children aged 9–12 years. They completed four dictogloss tasks designed to elicit the use of the Present Perfect Tense and received instruction consisting of either explicit metalinguistic explanation (group 1), direct written correction (group 2) or no form-focused instruction (the comparison group) between performing the tasks. Accuracy in the production of the target structure across the four tasks was variable and showed no improvement from the first to the last. Nor were there any statistically significant differences in accuracy among the three groups. The results support some earlier studies of young children (e.g. Fazio, 2001) that have failed to show that FFI benefits young children. This may be because children fail to make use of their metalinguistic knowledge of grammatical features when undertaking meaning-focused writing tasks.
Keywords: children, form-focused instruction, metalinguistic information, written corrective feedback, acquisition
Patterns of interaction and young ESL learners: What is the impact of proficiency and task type?
Rhonda Oliver | Curtin University
Agurtzane Azkarai | Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU)
Previous research carried out from a socio-cultural perspective has explored the way adult learners interact when undertaking tasks. Following the type of analysis initiated by Storch (2002) we examined the patterns of interaction of young ESL learners (ages 9–12) of different English proficiency levels, high-intermediate (H) and low-intermediate (L) as they worked with native speakers (NS) (i.e., H/NS and L/NS pairs) to carry out a one-way and a two-way task. Once the patterns of interaction were determined, we then explored the relationship between these patterns, the learners’ proficiency levels and the task type. Our findings reveal that, regardless of proficiency, these child ESL learners engaged with the tasks and with each other, most often collaboratively, but also using other patterns interaction. However, the findings also suggest that task type and learner proficiency influenced the pattern of interactions that occurred.
Keywords: patterns of interaction, ESL, young learners, task-based interaction, proficiency
